Winchelsea

Christmas at St Thomas' Church: On Christmas Eve, Saturday December 24th, the Crib Service will take place at 4pm and children are invited to dress up as angels and shepherds to join in the action of the Nativity. This will be followed by the Midnight Communion service beginning at 11.30 till 12.30pm to celebrate Jesus' entry into the world; coming as fully man and fully God. Sunday Christmas Day there will be a contemplative Holy Communion Service for about one hour beginning at 11am. The Church is beautifully decorated for Christmas and all residents of the parish and friends are welcome to these services.
Winchelsea & Winchelsea Beach newsWinchelsea & Winchelsea Beach news
Winchelsea & Winchelsea Beach news

Boxing day: The traditional Street Game is played every year in Castle Street at 11am for about 30 minutes on Boxing Day. Anyone can participate and there are three teams competing against each other and no rules to get in the way. Kicking a papier-mache head around to compensate for a French invasion back in history can get unruly so the best part of the action follows in the New Inn.

Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle which features Sherlock Holmes will be performed on Thursday December 29th at 5pm in St Thomas’ Church. Tickets are £10 adults and £6 under 16s by contacting the Bonfire Boyes on 01797 224446 or from Grammar School Records, Rye. Rain or Shine Theatre Company are returning to the town to perform this play for the festive period and to bring a chill to the wintry season.

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Dog in the Night: If you would like tickets for The National Theatre production of Mark Haddon’s play, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time’ the number to contact is 01797 227690. You are invited to join the Literary Society to watch this admirable drama and depending on how many come there is a group discount ranging from £26 to £29. A deposit of £2 will have to be paid to Hilary Roome by January 6th to secure your ticket. The performance takes place on Thursday March 9th 2017 at 2.30pm in The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury and seats are reserved in the stalls. Travel by your own steam to get there and car sharing can be arranged.

Knowing Lear: Denis Moriarty described Edward Lear in as much detail as is available through his biography and works at the Literary Society’s meeting on December 9th. Born in 1812 he was the twentieth of twenty-one children but lived a fairly solitary life brought up by his oldest sister who was twenty-one years his senior. Despite financial and health impediments in his childhood he became a celebrated artist, author and poet of literary nonsense and may well have influenced the Pythonesque style of humour. He visited many countries but settled down in Italy alone with his cat Foss, a likely inspiration for ‘The Owl and the Pussy Cat’. Although basically enigmatic in his personal life it is possible to distinguish him through similarities in many of his writings including the Jumblies, the Pelican Chorus, The Table and Chair and also How pleasant to know Mr. Lear! which goes: ‘Some think him ill-tempered…. his mind is concrete and fastidious… He drinks a great deal of Marsala…He weareth a runcible hat…. He weeps on the top of a hill… He reads but he cannot speak Spanish…. He cannot abide ginger-beer…. How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!’

Winchelsea Beach

Christmas Day: There will be a Christmas Holy Communion service at 9.30am in St Richard’s Church on December 25th. All are invited to come along and make Christmas complete with this special Sunday morning worship.

Road repairs: Be warned; Smeatons Lane which runs alongside the recreation ground, opposite Dogs Hill Road is a possible death-trap for most vehicles. A single-lane private road with access only it is maintained by Icklesham Parish Council. In its present state it could be a quad biker’s dream with its hardcore surface engraved with jagged pot holes and deep depressions more reminiscent of the economy at its worst. This byway might be improved by tarmacking but that would be costly. Instead there is the prospect of making do with patch-ups as a temporary solution. However, budget restraints mean that it would be better to wait until the spring when the Parish Council plans to make more considerable repairs.

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May I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a prosperous 2017!

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